WO1999062381A1

WO1999062381A1 - Protection device for fixing a painting or the like on a wall

Info

Publication number: WO1999062381A1
Application number: PCT/FR1999/001310
Authority: WO
Inventors: Jean-Michel Valeo; Léonard Lober
Original assignee: Valeo Jean Michel; Lober Leonard
Priority date: 1998-06-03
Filing date: 1999-06-03
Publication date: 1999-12-09
Also published as: FR2779470A1; FR2779470B1

Abstract

The invention concerns a device comprising a first shell (14) whereof one of the faces (17) at least is open, including a housing for a ring (3) fixing the painting (2) and the hook (7) whereon it is engaged, and including an opening (23) in a side surface for passing through a lock (16) removable cylinder (24), a second shell (15) comprising an open face (17) opposite the first shell (14) open face, for closing the housing of the ring (3) fixing the painting (2), the two shells (14, 15) being at least partially interlocked into each other, said second shell (15) comprising, in a side surface, an opening (29) coinciding with that of the first shell (14), so as to allow through the lock cylinder (24), when the two shells (14, 15) are assembled, one of the shells (14) having a central wall (27) for blocking the cylinder (24) web.

Description

PROTECTION DEVICE FOR FIXING A PANEL OR

SIMILAR ON A WALL

The present invention relates to a device for protecting the attachment of a painting or the like to a wall. Tables or other similar works are generally fixed on vertical walls. The frame of the table is equipped, on its rear face, with at least one ring capable of being engaged on a hook which is directly fixed to the wall, or mounted on an intermediate support. Generally, especially in the case of galleries or museums, each room is equipped, at the level of the ceiling, with horizontal profiles called picture rails, in which the curved ends of vertical rods are engaged. On the vertical rods, adjustable slides are mounted, each of which is equipped with a hook capable of receiving a ring. Pictures, whether presented in a museum, in a place open to the public, or even if they are in a private room, must be protected against theft. Indeed, in the absence of protection, it is very simple, by lifting the table, to unhook it from its support, before taking it. A first known solution for protecting the works is represented in FIG. 1. This figure shows part of a painting, and more particularly of the frame 2 thereof, on which is fixed a metal ring 3. A rod 4 mounted on a picture rail, not shown in the drawing, is equipped with a slide 5 of adjustable position and biocable in the desired position thanks to a spring 6, this slide being equipped with a hook 7 on which is intended to be engaged a ring 3 of the picture frame. The known protection device is constituted by a cover 8 having an opening 9 allowing its engagement on the rod 4, this cover being intended to come to cover the slide and the hook 7, and being blocked by two screws 10 intended to come to bear against the rod 4. The screws 10 are headless screws, actuable by hexagonal keys. A first drawback of this device is that it is relatively long and difficult to set up, since it is first necessary to engage the cover on the rod, before setting up the slide, which must then be put in place the slide and hang the table on the hook with which this slide is fitted. In addition, the cover should be locked by screwing the two screws, which is a relatively long operation. This device has the drawback of being relatively vulnerable because a person wishing to steal a painting can, in a discreet manner and in several times, if necessary, unscrew the screws of the cover, before being able to simply and quickly unhook the painting when the screws are loose. This operation requiring a relatively long time is a drawback when a painting has to be dismantled very quickly, for example when a fire breaks out in the room in which the painting is suspended. The known device therefore has the drawback of not ensuring perfect security on the one hand, and of not allowing its rapid removal, in the event of an emergency, on the other hand.

The object of the invention is to provide a protection device of real effectiveness, and which is very quick to set up and take down for authorized persons.

To this end, the device it concerns, of the aforementioned type, comprises:

- A first shell, at least one of the faces of which is open, which comprises a housing for a table fixing ring and the hook on which it is engaged, and which comprises an opening in a lateral face for the passage of the removable cylinder a lock,

- A second shell which has an open face facing the open face of the first shell, which is intended to close the housing of the panel fixing ring, with at least partial embedding of the two shells l one in the other, this second shell comprising, in a lateral face, an opening coincident with that of the first shell, in order to allow the passage of the lock cylinder, when the two shells are assembled,

- one of the two shells having a central wall to allow the blocking of the cylinder bit.

The two shells are assembled together around the ring and the hook on which it is engaged, then the removable lock cylinder is engaged in the corresponding openings of the two shells, before being locked there by blocking of the cylinder bit behind a central wall. It is thus very easy and very quick to put the protection device in place, by assembling the two shells, even if a table is in place, the locking being carried out using the lock. The security provided is very important in that it is necessary to have a specific key to open the device, unlike the known device, in which it is sufficient to simply unscrew. Finally, in the event of an emergency, the device can be removed very quickly by a person with the key. The lock is accessible from the side face of the device facing outwards to facilitate maneuvers.

According to a first embodiment, the two shells are independent of one another and can be assembled by male-female fitting into one another.

According to another embodiment, the two shells are linked together and are pivotable one on the other.

According to yet another embodiment, the two shells are linked together and are sliding one on the other.

Advantageously, in the case where a table ring is fixed to a hook mounted on a vertical rod, one of the vertical faces of each shell is open, in order to allow engagement of each on the rod, and the lower faces and upper of each shell each have an opening or slot opening on the side of the vertical face open to allow the passage of the rod.

According to a characteristic of the invention, the height of the second shell is less than the height of the first shell, the difference in height corresponding to the height of the area of the first shell intended for housing the ring and the hook on which he is engaged.

In order to limit the size of the device and in particular the width of the latter, the first shell comprises, in its zone serving for housing the ring and the hook which is associated with it, lateral faces having two parallel and horizontal slots opening out from the side of the vertical face open, to allow engagement of the ring.

According to an embodiment of this device, the first shell, of larger dimensions, constitutes the female part, in which is intended to be engaged at least partially the second shell, which constitutes the female part, and which comprises the blocking wall of the cylinder bit.

According to another embodiment, one of the shells includes means for fixing to a wall, such as holes, and is equipped with a hook for fixing a ring to the table. In this case, the device serves both to protect and to fix a hook on a support such as a wall.

In any case, the invention will be clearly understood with the aid of the description which follows, with reference to the appended diagrammatic drawing representing, by way of nonlimiting example, an embodiment of this device.

Figure 1 is a perspective view of the known device described above.

Figure 2 is an exploded perspective view of the device according to the invention, before installation on a mounting assembly of a table.

Figure 3 is a perspective view of this device, after assembly.

Figures 4 and 5 are two sectional views, respectively along a vertical plane, along the line IV-IV of Figure 5, and along a horizontal plane, along the line V-V of Figure 4.

In the device described with reference to FIGS. 2 to 5, the same elements are designated by the same references as in the device in FIG. 1.

In the embodiment shown in Figure 2, the rod 4 is equipped, at its upper end, with a hook-shaped part 12, open downward, intended to bear on a wing of a picture rail 13 fixed to the wall, at the top of it.

The device according to the invention comprises two shells 14 and 15 each made of a rigid and resistant material, for example steel, as well as a lock 16 whose cylinder is removable. The first shell, of generally parallelepiped shape has a vertical face having an opening 17 over its entire height, an upper horizontal face having an opening 18 over the entire surface of this face, and a horizontal lower face comprising a slot 19 opening into the opening 17. The lower part of the shell 14, designated by the reference 20, forms an area for housing the hook 7 and the ring 3 engaged on this hook. In its large vertical faces, the shell 14 has two horizontal slots 22 opening out on the side of the open face 17, and intended to allow partial engagement of the ring 3. In its upper part, the shell 14 has in one of its large lateral faces, an opening 23 for engaging the cylinder 24 of the lock 16. Given the various openings 17, 18 and slot 19 which it comprises, this shell 14 can be engaged on a rod 4 fitted with a slide on the hook 7 which is engaged a ring 3, from back to front. The second shell 15, also parallelepipedal, is of a height less than that of the first shell 14, the difference in height corresponding to the height of the area 20 for housing the ring 3 and the hook 7. This second shell 15 forms a male part intended to be engaged in the upper part of the shell 14, in order to close the opening 18, the upper part of the opening 17, and to prevent access to the hook 7 on which the ring 3 is engaged This shell 15 has an open lower face, an open front face, and an upper face 25 in which is formed a slot 26 opening into the front face and intended for the passage of the rod 4. The second shell 15 also has a central wall and longitudinal 27 in which is formed an opening 28 for the passage of the lock cylinder. A corresponding opening 29 is formed in one of the side walls of the shell 15. The central wall 27 is intended to lock the bit 30 of the cylinder 24, when the latter is introduced into the device. This second shell can be positioned from front to rear on the rod 4, after the first shell has been positioned by housing the slide 5, the hook 6 and part of the ring 3. Once the two shells are fitted one in the other, the cylinder 24 is inserted into the openings 23, 29 and 28, the key 32 is pivoted to bring the bit 30 into the locking position behind the central wall 27, after which the key is removed. The device is then in the position shown in FIGS. 3, 4 and 5, positions in which it is not possible to have access to the zone for fixing the ring 3 to the hook 7.

This device is very practical insofar as it can be set up and removed very quickly, including on tables which are already suspended since it is not necessary to engage the device on the rod before setting up the slide 5, as is the case with the known device.

As it goes without saying, the invention is not limited to the sole embodiment of this device, described above by way of example, on the contrary it embraces all variants. Thus in particular that the two shells could have a different conformation, could be articulated one on the other or slidably mounted one on the other, the male and female shells being reversed with respect to the solution which has shown in the drawing, or that one of the shells could be fixed directly against a wall and be provided with a hook part intended to receive a ring 3.

Claims

1 - Device for protecting the attachment of a painting or the like to a wall, in which the painting is equipped with at least one metal ring (3) fixed on the rear face of the frame, and intended to be engaged on a hook (7) or similar, characterized in that it comprises:

- A first shell (14) of which at least one of the faces is open, which comprises a housing for a ring (3) for fixing the switchboard and the hook (7) on which it is engaged, and which comprises an opening ( 23) in a lateral face for the passage of the removable cylinder (24) of a lock (16),

- A second shell (15) which has an open face opposite the open face of the first shell (14), which is intended to close the housing of the ring (3) for fixing the switchboard, with an at least partial embedding of the two shells (14, 15) one inside the other, this second shell comprising, in a lateral face, an opening (29) coincident with that of the first shell (14), in order to allow the passage of the lock cylinder (24), when the two shells are assembled,

2 - Device according to claim 1, characterized in that the two shells (14, 15) are independent of one another and are assembled by male-female fitting into one another.

3 - Device according to claim 1, characterized in that the two shells are linked together and are pivotable one on the other.

4 - Device according to claim 1, characterized in that the two shells are linked together and are sliding one on the other.

5 - Device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that, in the case where a ring (3) of a table is fixed to a hook (7) mounted on a vertical rod (4), l 'one of the vertical faces of each shell is open, to allow engagement of each on the rod, and the lower and upper faces of each shell each have an opening or slot (18, 19, 26) opening on the side of the face vertical open to allow the passage of the rod (4). 6 - Device according to claim 5, characterized in that the height of the second shell (15) is less than the height of the first shell (14), the difference in height corresponding to the height of the area (20) of the first shell intended for housing the ring (3) and the hook (7) on which it is engaged.

7 - Device according to any one of claims 5 and 6, characterized in that the first shell (14) comprises, in its zone serving for housing the ring (3) and the hook (7) which is associated with it, lateral faces having two parallel and horizontal slots (22) opening out on the side of the open vertical face (17), to allow engagement of the ring (3). 8 - Device according to any one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that the first shell (14), of larger dimensions, constitutes the female part, in which is intended to be engaged at least partially the second shell ( 15), which constitutes the female part, and which comprises the wall (27) for blocking the bit (30) of the cylinder. 9 - Device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that one of the shells comprises means for fixing to a wall, such as holes, and is equipped with a hook for fixing a ring of the Board.